Sheffield Wednesday v Barnsley Preview

Posted on | February 2, 2009 | No Comments

Any South Yorkshire derby is usually a classic, but this has added spice and there could be more at stake than local pride. Visitors Barnsley are on a terrible run of form and having lost every single one of their five games in January, supporters are turning against Simon Davey and the pressure is starting to build. Sheffield Wednesday meanwhile are having a much better season and having already reached thirty nine points, it looks as though they’ll be missing out on their annual end of season relegation scrap!

Home side Wednesday could be in line for a boring second half to the season – but that will delight the vast majority of supporters. For the last few years the Owls have been used to battling the drop yet this season, despite spending little money, Brian Laws has worked miracles and they’re sat in a comfortable 13^th position. They lost against Nottingham Forest a couple of weeks ago but other than that their form of late has been impressive and in their last game they netted a good draw against promotion hopefuls Birmingham. Laws’ squad was plagued with injuries not so long ago but with key players now returning, he’ll be confident of extending this good run and repaying Barnsley for the 2-1 defeat they inflicted on them in the last fixture between the two sides.

As for Barnsley, their season is quickly going downhill and after getting to a mid-table position not so long ago; it’s all gone wrong for the Tykes in recent weeks. January was a truly awful month for them and after losing all five games, they’re now looking over their shoulder being just two points away from the bottom three. Fans have been heard to call for Simon Davey’s head in the last two defeats and with some tricky fixtures coming up in the next month or so, there’s no doubt that the pressure is starting to intensify. However, with Wednesday being the club’s fiercest rivals, no doubt a win on Tuesday will help keep supporters quiet for the time being.

As for team news, Brian Laws is expected to keep faith with the same side that drew to Birmingham on Saturday. Francis Jeffers is still unavailable through suspension, but other than that Laws has a strong squad to choose from. As for Barnsley, their situation changed emphatically on Monday. Simon Davey brought in Michael Mifsud, Andranik Teymourian and Adam Hammill on loan until the end of the season and with all three having a decent pedigree at this level and above, there’s a chance that they all could go straight into the starting eleven.

In terms of a prediction, it can only be a Wednesday win. Barnsley have one of the worst away records in the division and unfortunately for them, we see this as their sixth straight loss. They’ll make it hard for the Owls, but it’ll end in a 1-0 home win.

Related posts:

1. Barnsley v Sheffield Wednesday Preview
2. Sheffield Wednesday v Barnsley Preview
3. Sheffield Wednesday v Barnsley Preview
4. Birmingham v Sheffield Wednesday Preview
5. Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday Preview

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